Tech could aid, not replace, paramedics

A proposed experiment testing new technology for paramedics won’t be surrendering control to machines.The Next Generation First Responder program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is attempting to bring new equipment to front-line emergency services within five years.In a trip on behalf of – and funded by – the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada, Hastings County Paramedic Chief Doug Socha travelled last month to California to discuss the program. In addition to Homeland Security and the paramedic chiefs, Canada’s Centre for Security Science and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are also partners in the program.A promotional video for the program shows first responders using artificial intelligence and other equipment to make decisions during an emergency and perform their jobs more safely.But Socha said those fearing a robot uprising need not be alarmed.Showing a few pictures from science-fiction pop culture, such as the Terminator movie series in which machines rule the world, Socha said the technology now being envisioned is designed to aid humans and provide better service.“It’s all about decision support. It’s not about the computer making the decision,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting of the Hastings-Quinte emergency services committee.Speaking at the North Hastings Health Centre, Socha showed an image of the 2005 induction of Pope Benedict. In the tightly-packed crowd, just one person could be seen taking a photo with a flip-opening mobile phone. The slide, however, showed a sea of glowing smartphone and tablet screens during the 2013 induction of Pope Francis.The chief said it’s a sign of the rapid spread and advancement of technology in daily life.“It’s really becoming part of our culture, so how do we embrace it?” Socha said.He suggested new systems could lead to better care and give paramedics access to more resources.Socha said paramedics could enter background information into a computer system, then allow it to analyze it to speed up their own decision making, saving them valuable time in the field.That system is nicknamed AUDREY (Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction and sYnthesis).Though not unlike the virtual assistants now used on mobile devices, AUDREY is intended to be a far more powerful tool. A paramedic could, for example, ask the system via voice command whether there is time to rush a patient to the heart surgery unit or check road conditions without having to search online for that information. The system would also reply with its own synthesized voice.If a paramedic is considering giving a patient a medication, the system may be able to sort through the required checklist.“There could be some feedback from AUDREY that could be looking at what the vital signs were, do they meet the parameters, were all the indications met,” said Socha. “If the paramedic forgot to ask a question, there could be a prompt saying, ‘What was the last blood pressure?’”He said AUDREY may also be able to speed up communication between paramedics in the field and doctors in hospitals. When paramedics talk to doctors during an incident, he said, they must first go through a detailed process “and describe the incident history, the current state of the patient.”“The physician on the other end physically writes down on a piece of paper all of that information.”But AUDREY could possibly be used to send that information to the doctor, he said, making the process smoother for both doctor and paramedic.Local paramedics have already taken part in a separate community paramedicine study allowing them to monitor patients remotely. It’s hoped expansion of such programs could allow patients to remain at home in better health, preventing the need for so many trips to hospitals.But these projects involve the transmission of data and not everywhere in Hastings County has the required communications network to permit it.The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), a project of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, is now working with the provincial and federal governments as well as telecommunications providers in the hope of improving mobile service and capacity across the county and region. A broadband public safety network for emergency services is also proposed.“We have to have that basic network of connectivity,” said the EORN’s co-leader, Jim Pine.“It all has to be transmitted some way, and you have to have the physical infrastructure in the region,” said Pine, who’s also Hastings County’s chief administrative officer.“It’s not something that’s nice to have anymore. It’s something that’s actually required,” he said. “That’s why we’re pushing so hard.”Socha said the county has not signed any contract related to the Next Generation First Responder program. His paramedics are, however, testing some new devices in scenario settings and he said those could set the stage for future projects.lhendry@postmedia.com